The remains of the Stegeborg castle are situated beautifully on a little island in the sea channel leading toward Söderköping. In the Middle Ages the castle was one of the most important strongholds in Sweden and also a royal palace. The oldest parts of the castle is a brick tower in the southeast corner, built in the early 13th century.
In the 18th century the castle was in bad shape and some wooden buildings were even were auctioned off. In 1938 the Swedish National Heritage Board received a small sum to clear the location of trees and repair the worst damage and raise protective roofing over certain parts. The new main building (a private residence) was completed in 1806. The herb-garden was laid out in 1988 by the present owner.
Today Stegeborg is open for tourists and the castle ruins are now also a port tavern and a marina.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.